“It is a mess,” she agreed. “But I love him. And love isn’t something I take lightly.”

“Is this the guy you said would kick my ass for being friendly to you?”

“Yes. And he would. He’s fiercely protective and loyal. My unpolished gem.”

The man’s voice got a little lower. “Give a polished gem a shot, Vivian. You’ll find it quite nice.”

I sprang up from the step and jogged down. “She said no, motherfucker. What’d you say to her? Did you touch her?”

The pretty twentysomething’s eyes got big. “What the fuck?”

“Kane,” Viv said.

A burly man in dark clothes stalked toward me. “Back away from Mr. Cartwright, sir.”

“Make me, asshole. That’s my girlfriend he’s trying to get with.”

“Ah . . . this is where I should say goodnight.” Henley looked at Viv. “You know how to reach me.”

“I’m gonna reach you in about two seconds if you don’t get the fuck out of here,” I said, stepping closer to him.

The bodyguard put himself between me and pretty boy, rushing him into a waiting car.

“Kane,” Viv said again.

I turned and took in her pained expression. “Hey.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m not walking out. You told me not to walk out on you ever again and I won’t. I love you, Viv. Not a little. I love you with everything I am. I can’t go back to life before you. I fucked up and I’m sorry. I should’ve told you about Cori.”

The corners of her mouth turned down sadly.

“It hurt so much, finding out you were torn between me and her, Kane. I don’t know if I can get past that.”

“It wasn’t like that. Not even close. I was never torn between you and her. For a few hours, maybe, I thought I had to choose between you and Brooklyn. Cori had me wondering if I was supposed to think of Brooklyn’s happiness instead of my own.”

Viv’s brow furrowed. “Because you being with me would make Brooklyn unhappy?”

“No.” I breathed out a cloud of cold winter air. “It makes Cori unhappy, but she fucked with my head enough to make me wonder if I was being a shitty father. I was a shitty father for so long that I doubted myself.”

She nodded slightly.

“And by the way,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, “what the fuck did Justin Bieber mean when he mentioned me kicking his ass for being friendly to you?”

“Henley?” She smiled at the Bieber reference. “That weekend I had to fly to L.A. he tried to hit on me. I told him you’d kick his ass if you knew.”

“Hell yeah, I would’ve. But I didn’t get a chance, did I? Because you never told me, Viv.”

She opened her mouth and closed it again. “This is different.”

I moved closer to her. “Like hell.”

“Kane . . .”

“Viv.”

A few seconds of silence passed.

“I love you,” I said. “I’ve never had this before, what we’ve got, and I’m not losing it. I’ll tell Cori no more visits at their house.”

Viv met my eyes solemnly. “You’ll tell her you want time with Brooklyn without her present. And if she says no, we’ll petition the court for it.”

A sliver of hope glowed warm in my chest. “Okay, that’s fair. I’ll tell her that.”

“And you’ll share stuff with me from now on. Not leave me in the dark.”

“I’ll never leave you in the dark again.”

Her eyes softened. “And you won’t let me sleep alone ever again.”

I put my hands on her hips, the soft, familiar curves of her making my blood pump. “Never again.”

“I love you,” she said, resting her palms on my chest. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to love anyone else.”

I leaned my forehead against hers. “I hope not, because I’ll fucking castrate any man you look twice at.”

She laughed softly. “So romantic, Kane.”

“I’m your unpolished gem, remember?”

“You are.”

“So let’s go inside and I’ll remind you just how unpolished I am in bed.”

“I may need multiple reminders.”

I pulled her in close. “Done.”

Four months later

THERE WAS SOMETHING SEXY ABOUT the pale pink paint specks in Kane’s beard. He saw me admiring him and arched his brows.

“See something you like?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” He smacked my ass and scooped his hands behind my legs, picking me up.

I laughed uncontrollably and even snorted in a most unladylike way as he tickled me. Brooklyn came running into the kitchen carrying a pink-paint covered paintbrush.

“You ready for more paint?” Kane asked her, setting my feet back on the floor.

“Yeah. Viv, come see how good it looks!”

I smiled and walked down my apartment’s short hallway, admiring the tiny room that used to be my office. Now it was Brooklyn’s bedroom when she stayed with us. We were paining it pink and having new carpet put in. Kane had already started building a loft bed for her and was planning to make her a bookcase next.

The gym’s storage room that had formerly been his home was now his woodworking shop. He’d discovered a passion for it and I’d often go to the shop with him, working on my laptop on the couch that still remained there. The silence between us was always comfortable. I liked knowing he was there even if we weren’t talking.

Our life together was evolving nicely. We had Brooklyn every other weekend, which we’d achieved through mediation with Cori rather than taking her to court. Kane had told her in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t be spending time alone with her anymore.

He still wasn’t open to Grayson coming over. After a thirty day stay at a rehab facility in January, Grayson seemed to be doing better. But Kane said he still had a long road ahead and couldn’t be trusted in our home after stealing from me. We invited him to have dinner with us at the club regularly, and Kane had forgiven his six thousand dollar debt. He definitely hadn’t forgotten it, though, and he watched Grayson like a hawk. I was secretly relieved, because the trust between me and Grayson hadn’t been rebuilt yet.

“You booked us in for a table Friday night, right?” I asked Kane.

“Yep. In the room with the stripper pole.”

I looked at him, my brows arched. “Are you kidding? I know you’re kidding, but I need you to confirm that you’re not taking my parents into the room with the pole.”

“Course I’m kidding. Don’t worry, baby. Your parents are gonna love your tattooed, ex-con, nightclub owner boyfriend.”

I shrugged. “They should love you, but if they don’t?”

“Eff ‘em,” Kane said. He was watching his use of his favorite word around Brooklyn.

“You can just say it,” she said, looking over at us from the wall she was painting. “I know what eff means.”

Kane’s expression sobered. “If any boy ever says that word to you, I want you to slap him. Really hard.”

She smiled the same smile that had melted my heart last fall in the most unexpected of places and ways. I saw so much of Kane in his daughter. And with her in his life, he was lighter. Free from the demons that had been chasing him when we met.

A life full of love had been waiting for him. And now that he’d reached for it, he was holding on tight. And I was, too.

Two Years Later

Brooklyn

I’VE NEVER FELT SO BEAUTIFUL. My pale blue dress comes all the way down to the floor and it shines a little in the light when I move. I’m wearing sparkly silver sandals and my toenails are bright pink because I got my first pedicure the other day.

And my hair . . . it’s all curled and piled on my head. Dad insisted on getting me a tiara that has tiny shining diamonds in it. He said I should look like the princess I am today.

And I do. He’s marrying Viv today, but they’ve told me so many times that this isn’t just their special day–it’s ours.